Category Archives: Black & White

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We were downtown eating dinner this past Friday nite and while walking I had my handy and light Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 lens attached to my camera and for some reason my eyes are always drawn to this great building while downtown. The shape, color, lights = all good! I was about 3 blocks away and looking up…hand held…I grabbed this shot…zoomed in! We have been in Austin for 4 years now and I am really enjoying the many super cool photo locations it has to offer. I find new places all the time or the more I see an old spot, I try to photograph it differently. Enjoy!

One of the best places 2 explore in Vienna is the Ringstrasse…here you can find some fantastic architecture and amazing sights! The cool thing about Vienna is that it is a small city and you can walk the Ringstrasse in a few hours! I had a free Saturday here and went out a few times to see as much as possible. When it was getting dark, my goal was the opera. Luckily this night there was a big concert at the city hall and they had a major section of the strasse (street) closed down. There was no traffic in front of the Opera House! Sweet! I set up my tripod, dodged a few people and snapped away.

So the battle of black and white vs color rages on…tough to decide when such cool tones arrive when converted to B&W. Today’s post is B&W, Monday will be the color version. I might give the nudge to B&W.

My hometown is Branchburg, New Jersey. I was there for 25 years. It is a very small town and used to be made up mostly of farms. These days its developed with housing and corporations. That is the world today! The one steady constant was that you can catch a train into New York City at the North Branch Station on the NJT (New jersey Transit) via the Raritan Valley Line. As I grew up here…there were not a bunch of great spots for photography. After my morning shoot at the abandoned Diner (post this past week)…I drove over the one lane bridge near the station to see if there were any possible good shots.

Once over the bridge I looked over the the left and saw this cool bridge! Had seen it before? I am sure I have, but it never registered as a photo op! As the trees surrounding it were still bare from winter…it was a clear view! I looped back around and parked. Walked about 1/4 mile down the embankment and here was the bridge! A nice calm quiet morning. It was just me and the geese honking. Sweet spot for an HDR! Sometimes taking a drive can lead to treasures!

Here is an Infrared photo from one cool spot in Austin…Moore’s Crossing. I have been there twice. Shot HDR’s, IR’s and did some portrait work there. Its located in an obscure park and the bridge is actually just placed there and takes you nowhere. …just for pedestrians only. I have yet to be back at nite…this is when the ghost stories appear…

Info from the web: Is the wrought iron bridge really haunted? Rumors state that a tragic incident took place on this bridge. The exact time has been lost. Research has found no evidence to back up this aspiring urban legend. However, as the story goes, a man was hung, by a mob, from one of the cross beams because of a forbidden love affair. Witnesses say after midnight you can see the man hanging from the crossbeam swaying in a slight breeze. Below, a shadow of a female figure is seen looking up in the direction of the swinging body. Many witnesses over the years have reported seeing people walking across the bridge dressed in out-of-date clothing. A couple, while crossing the old narrow bridge by car in the 80’s, speak of a man on foot waving to them as they pass him. They backed up to see the strangely dressed man but found that he had vanished.

This photo above is of the Rio Grande Gorge in Taos, New Mexico. I woke my family up early as I wanted to take a drive out of town to see the fantastic sight! Just only 15 minutes north of the town of Taos is this gorge. I did not know what to expect. I was windy and a bit chilly…so the walk out to the middle of the bridge overlooking this view was tough! I held onto my hat and steadied my tripod.

I’ll have an HDR soon..but only processed this IR shot first. In B&W..it looks cool! Even that mountain range in the background is interesting. I enjoyed our stay in Taos! A cute artsy town and a great place to ski! It is snowing all over the east coast today…hope you had a Merry XMas!

Info from the web: The Rio Grande Gorge runs from northwest to southeast of Taos, New Mexico, through the basalt flows of the Taos Plateau volcanic field. The gorge depth is 800 feet just south of the Gorge Bridge, which spans the gorge ten miles northwest of Taos. The gorge is knownfor its world class white water (up to Class V), steep pocketed rock climbing, and many ancient and beautiful petroglyphs. Petroglyphs in the gorge have inspired many of the prints and patterns on trinkets, mugs, and t-shirts sold in local shops. At the bottom of the gorge, the Rio Grande is flanked by hidden hot springs and many ruins. The former Chili Line also ran here.

From the picturesque Stanford University in Northern California above is a photo from the main quad at the campus. Stanford has many great photographic locations…the best spot is the Memorial Church….it is only about 500 feet from these pillars. Some other point of interest are…Arizona Garden, Cantor Arts Center, Campus Sculpture, Hoover Tower, the Dish and much more! Stanford is about 35 miles south of San Francisco, so stop by if you are ever in the area!

October is almost here…that means the regular baseball season is coming to a close. I think it has been 18 consecutive losing season for my Pirates. I will route for them even if it gets to 40 straight season! Good luck to all the teams heading to the playoffs…maybe another Yankees vs Phillies rematch? Not often do you see baseball in infrared…here is the stunning PNC Park (home of the Pirates) in all of its IR Glory! Hope the shot is a home run!